5 common credit card habits that cost you

Most of us are guilty of some bad habits in our lives. There are too eat the fun stuff, and not exercising enough to burn, and tomorrow, salary expenses today. Of course, able to obtain and maintain a budget can be difficult to follow patterns, but avoiding these five common bad habits can add a bit of easy money to your bottom line.

1. By paying only the minimum balance. Paying just the minimum balance on your credit card each month to keep your creditors happy, but not to help you pay the interest costs more.

Corporate credit card to highlight the love Minimum Payment Due on your monthly bill – a trick they use to stretch your payments for years, costing you hundreds, even thousands of dollars in interest . For example, a $ 5,000 balance with a minimum monthly payment of 4 percent and an APR of 18 percent will take you a little over 11 years to repay, costs about $ 2,875 in total interest paid.

Do not believe? Discover what the credit card calculator to a good start today and see the real cost of paying only the minimum. The results are shocking, and you can rethink your habits minimum payment because it can cost you thousands.

2. Buying a new car. If you like the new car smell and take a whiff of how much you lost in depreciation just driving off the lot. According to popular site Edmunds car, “New cars depreciate very quickly when they are first sold. Drive a new car off the lot and may lose 20 percent of its value.”

The actual cost to own Edmunds calculator shows the mathematics behind this depreciation common. For example, a brand new 2010 Subaru Outback with a sticker price of $ 25,221 dollars depreciates surprising 4138 first year of ownership, $ 2.690 for the second year and another $ 2.367 in the third. It’s more than a third of the initial depreciation of the car in three years.

Why pay such high prices when there is a habit of driving more intelligently to consider? Buying a used car can save you big! Opt for a used car on a new, not only cost you thousands less than the initial price, but the depreciation is less radical, too. The same Subaru Outback depreciates nearly $ 1,800 in five years, then skip the new wheels and used to drive a car will save you thousands of dollars per year.

If you’re in the market for a car that is used to learn the “tricks” in How to buy a used car (without drinking lemonade). This guide on how to sell your vehicle online is useful if you want to sell your old car for something with less miles.

3. Smoking. We all know that smoking is terrible for your health, but have you thought what this deadly habit on your wealth? While smoking a pack of cigarettes per day at an average cost of $ 5.33 per pack, this common habit can cost $ 1,945 in just one year. After five years you have burned more than $ 9,700 dollars just to power. Not to mention the potential steep cost of health care on the road.

4. Maintaining an attic drafts. If your house has an attic, then it is probably a leak of tens of dollars per year in energy costs. Adding insulation and to the attic hatch airtight cold weather can reduce your energy consumption throughout the year between 20-60 percent, saving you hundreds a year. Try these three simple methods to Attic Insulation Seal savings to reduce leakage currents of air in your portfolio. While you’re looking for energy savings, buy a few inexpensive foam outlet seals and plugs to child proof your electrical outlets to reduce energy costs – a fun and easy DIY project.

5. Ignoring your debt. You graduated how many years? Stop procrastinating and repay their student loans that already. Keeping the debt for years is not the best way to relive your college years, especially since it cost you in interest costs to achieve equilibrium. If you do not plan to conquer debt, make a simple calculator and look for ways to increase your payments. I wrote about my experience with student loans How I paid my own student debt in six months, and managed to free himself of a loan of $ 17,000 quickly. You can too.